Former Florida DBs coach Corey Raymond set to return to LSU

Corey Raymond is set to return to LSU as a member of Brian Kelly’s staff, The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon reported. He spent 10 seasons with the Tigers before joining Billy Napier at Florida for the last two years.

Raymond’s and LSU are “working to finalize the deal,” Dixon reported. During his first stint with the Tigers, Raymond was the defensive backs coach and cornerbacks coach.

Corey Raymond and Sean Spencer were let go earlier in the offseason in a move Napier said came down to a “tough decision.”

“I think part of leadership is making tough decisions and I think that, ultimately, we felt like we needed to make changes there,” Napier said. “New voices, new leaders, new teachers. Those are tough. A ton of respect for Sean and Corey. They’re exceptional at what we do but we felt we needed to make a change and certainly excited about the new faces we’ve been able to add.”

Kelly has overhauled the defensive staff this offseason, most notably parting ways with coordinator Matt House, among others. LSU then made quite a splash to replace him, landing former Missouri DC Blake Baker. In fact, the Tigers are making Baker the highest-paid assistant coach in the country.

LSU is set to give Baker a three-year contract worth $2.5 million per year, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported — an increase from the $2 million salary he was going to get from Missouri as part of a new contract extension. For comparison, Baker made $1.4 million as part of his previous deal with Mizzou, according to the On3 Coach Salaries Index.

By getting Baker to leave Missouri, LSU had to pay his $950,000 buyout, according to The Advocate’s Wilson Alexander.

Baker emerged as a top candidate for the LSU opening on Thursday after helping Missouri put together an impressive 2023 season. The Tigers ranked No. 5 in the SEC in total defense, holding teams to 336.1 yards per game.

LSU, meanwhile, allowed 416.6 yards per game, which ranked 13th in the SEC, and gave up 35 points five times in 13 games. That ultimately led Kelly to part ways with House on Wednesday, and he now has his replacement in the plans.

It’s a return to Baton Rouge for Baker, who was previously on Ed Orgeron’s staff as linebackers coach in 2021 before joining forces with Eli Drinkwitz at Missouri. He started his coaching career in 2009 at the high school level, but latched on at Texas as a graduate assistant from 2010-12. He then became the safeties coach at Arkansas State in 2013 and took the same role at Louisiana Tech in 2014.